King Of Masks Gender Roles

The Chinese film, The King of Masks (Tianming, 1996), is representative of the type of film that embodies the traditional ideals of China. The story takes place in the 1930s, during which girls in China were not highly valued or respected. Evidence of gender discrimination can be seen throughout the film, particularly when families give daughters away for free while sons are valued much higher. The preference for sons over daughters is deeply intertwined with Chinese society as even early Confucian teachings foster gender discrimination (Jiang, 234). While the film presents itself as a story of love during harsh times, as portrayed through the development of the master-apprentice relationship between Doggie and Wang, it also comments on the
The gender inequality that Confucian teachings bring to Chinese society underlies the cruelty and unfair treatment from which girls, like Doggie, suffer. According to Chinese culture, under the influence of Confucianism, women are expected to be obedient to males and support them at home. As Jiang states, “model women are still supposed to be those who obey men, do all housework, and have no claim in important decisions” (Jiang 229). This enforces the societal expectation that only men will work outside and support the family while women are supposed to take care of the housework. All of this is apparent in the film The King of Masks, in which seemingly every man has a job, but the occupation of women is never shown. There is no obvious scene in the film that shows women working anywhere, the scenes where woman mostly appear are during the parades and sitting in the theatre caring for their children, such as Tianci’s family. After Wang buys Doggie
In the scene immediately after the purchasing Doggie, Wang is giving thanks to the Buddha statue on the side of the mountain. Significantly, the Buddha is located next to the river where Wang lives. According to Coppens, “Buddhism can be graphically represented as a voyage across the river of life.” (Coppens, 48). While the film shows how Chinese society supresses’ women and femininity, it also illustrates the hypocrisy in society as they worship the goddess Bodhisattva. In the particular scene when Doggie picks up the statue of the Bodhisattva and questions Wang as to why he worships the Bodhisattva even though she has breasts. It is obvious that Doggie is confused over the acceptance of the Bodhisattva and the oppression of women in society. The contradiction leaves Wang with a blank expression on his face as he has no constructive answer for Doggie. It is through this scene that Tianming beautifully captures the truth in Doggie’s question and exposes the issue of gender discrimination not only to the characters in the film but to the audience to ponder and reflect